Friday, February 10, 2012

Is bird-tourism possible in Gujarat?

Shyam Parekh | Monday, January 30, 2012
While the world was busy discussing recession and Eurozone crisis and India was obsessed with the nth warning by Anna Hazare to have a strong Lokpal Bill, a small conference quietly concluded in Gandhinagar. It was the second edition of Gujarat
Bird Watchers' Conference. Shorn of quite many feathers and the glory
compared with the 2010 event, the conference saw flocking of birds, err…
birders of the same feather! It was interesting and shocking at the
same time to hear them chirp some birdy tales.
A bird-watcher friend animatedly described poaching incidents that he witnessed at birding sites like NalSarovar and in the Little Rann of Kutch.
He had some pictures which he wanted me to see. He wanted me to do
something to stop rampant poaching. Indeed disturbing. But what was more
disturbing was the fact that he refused to go on record or even spare
pictures - for the fear of being found out! He was afraid of being
persecuted by the authorities. But what can a newspaper do without any
evidence or on-the-record comment? In the past, any journalistic
attempts to expose poaching or threats to the avifauna
have been invariably followed by notices from the forest department
either challenging the attempt to expose something or sometimes even
booking the journalist for an alleged crime of poaching!
A
well-known wildlife photographer complained how the access to the best
of the protected areas was denied to him by local foresters. The lensman
had dared to release some pictures depicting some poaching and
tree-felling. On top of that he dared to say no to the forest officer's
wish to take credit for a beautiful and rare picture of lions that the
photographer had taken!Needless to say, his career as a wildlife
photographer has been ruined to some extent. Shooting the messenger is
not going to help conservation.At the same time those attempting to
contribute towards conservation should learn not to get deterred by such
vested interests.

The most shocking part of the conference was that the second edition
was a quite scaled down and lacklustre affair. The more unbelievable
part was that forest officials, who are entrusted with conservation,
were conspicuous of their absence. The event was attended by bird
watchers, ornithologists, conservationists and wildlife photographers
from over a dozen countries! Gujarat is home to over 40% of the avifauna
of India and one of the finest birding destinations in the world. But,
when it was hosting probably the only such event in India, how can Gujarat Forest Department, the custodian of conservation of birds, be away?
Interestingly, some of the most renowned names in bird-watching in Gujarat too stayed away from the event. Was it that their fragile ego was hurt or that the organizers were not organized
enough to invite them? Whatever happened, the kind of fillip such an
event could have given to the conservation activities by bringing all
stakeholders on the same platform, did not happen. One hopes, these were
teething troubles and next time on it will.The state government which rightly saw a great opportunity in promoting bird tourism in Gujarat
should not leave conservation of birds only to some of the
disinterested employees of the forest department; neither to the
bird-watchers - who usually love to bash media! Some of them love to
blame media for everything that goes wrong on the conservation front.
Interestingly, if a demoiselle crane is identified as a common crane
there will be half a dozen phone calls for sure, the first thing in the
day! The poor editor will be put to great shame for the unforgivable
error. But when a demoiselle crane has been killed and when the media
tries to talk to these very people, they usually refrain from talking
saying "this is too controversial".
Conservation of birds, their
habitats and wetlands is a far more complex and challenging issue. It
needs an unusual approach - particularly for a state like Gujarat.
The state government should be proactive in setting up an apex body
that has conservation of birds as its sole objective, irrespective of
the departments which have a stake in birding habitats - forest,
irrigation and revenue.
Such a body can also grant accreditations
to wildlife photographers, professional and amateur ones, to access
protected areas for photography. This will ensure that the photographers
are not forced to capture only what the foresters want them to, they
end up contributing to conservation and documentation of natural
heritage fearlessly.
— The author is the resident editor of DNA AhmedabadSource: http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_is-bird-tourism-possible-in-gujarat_1643837

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